


Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance

by phdmama



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Cat, Humor, M/M, but not really, kind of a coffee shop au, this is just the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 22:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9627347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phdmama/pseuds/phdmama
Summary: Nolan is not what Louis was expecting, and who he brings along with him is even more unexpected.This is just the beginning.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a prompt challenge that a group of us are participating in for the prompt "Cat". To read the other amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, you can [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/cat/works) and to see all fics written as part of the challenge, you can [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/2017_hl_prompt_challenge/works).
> 
> Huge huge thanks to [lululawrence](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/) for her beta-ing and viscious editing of commas! 
> 
> So, this prompt took an interesting turn. It turns out, this wants to be a longer fic, as there's a much deeper, at times darker, but redemptive story to tell. So stay tuned! I will be finishing this fic and posting the whole thing.

“Mrrrow?”

Louis is juggling an armload of groceries and books while simultaneously burrowing in his backpack for his keys, so he really can’t be blamed for the fact that it takes a few seconds for the quizzical sound to travel from his ears to his brain.

“Mrrrow?”

The sound is a bit more insistent this time, and Louis freezes, for some reason looking first up at the dingy ceiling of the small entryway outside his apartment door, and then around him, and finally down at his own brand new and very cheerful welcome mat, where there is sitting a large, extremely fluffy, and apparently slightly disgruntled, cat. This cat has a brownish tabby appearance, large green eyes, and the longest tail Louis has ever seen on a cat, which is currently wrapped demurely around the cat’s paws, the end twitching slightly.

Louis doesn’t know what that means. Louis doesn’t know this cat. Louis doesn’t even have a cat, and if he did, he doesn’t think he’d have a housecat that looks like it could conceivably take on a small bear if necessary. He’d have a sleek Siamese, or maybe a Bombay, all gleaming black and long legs.

“Mrrrow?”

There’s definitely an edge to the cat’s tone now, and Louis wonders a bit nervously what exactly he’s meant to be doing. What cue has he missed? This cat seems to have expectations.

“Hello,” he says tentatively. “Have we, err, met?”

The cat gives one small, disdainful flick of its left ear.

“Hmm, okay. No to that. I mean, I’m sure I would have remembered you,” Louis hastens to assure the cat. “You’re very handsome.”

At that, the cat fixes an assessing eye on Louis.

“Well, um,” Louis says awkwardly, “I’ve got to get into my apartment, cat. I’ve got studying, I’m closing at work tomorrow, and I’ve got two exams on Monday. It’s going to be a very boring weekend. Not to mention tomorrow is fucking Valentine’s Day.”

He gives up on the juggling act he has been attempting, and sets his grocery bags and books down next to the cat, who eyes them interestedly, reaching out one large, tufted paw to gently pat the bag before stowing it back under its tail, which really is excessively fluffy.

“Just, you know, some food for the weekend,” he explains as he searches again for his keys, finally finding them exactly where they’re meant to be, hanging from the hook in the small, outside pocket, where they decidedly had not been the last three times he’d checked.

He opens his door, but before he can do anything else, the cat stands up and marches into the apartment, leaving Louis standing outside with his belongings around his feet, wondering what has just happened. He gathers up his bags and books and steps into the apartment.

It’s a studio, one large room with a small kitchen, an even smaller bathroom, and a very large closet. It’s a corner unit, big windows on both sides, so it gets lots of light. He looks out onto the busy road of Highland Avenue in Somerville, one of Boston’s bustling urban suburbs, crowded with students and everyone else who can’t afford Cambridge. On his corner alone, there’s a convenience store, an Irish pub, the Indian pizza diner, and a laundromat. He’s even right on the correct bus route to take him both to work and to grad school. Louis loves this apartment and had been lucky to get it. It’s his first very own apartment, and after almost 6 months, it’s finally starting to feel like home.

He sets the groceries in the kitchen, hangs his coat up, tosses the books carelessly onto his bed, and slings his keys onto the hook by the door. He’d cleaned yesterday, so the place even looks relatively decent. The cat hops up onto his futon, covered in a cheerful patchwork quilt made by his gran, and curls up.

“Err, make yourself at home, I guess?” Louis says, and wonders at the tentative sound in his voice. Who _is_ this cat. What powers does he (she?) possess?

He glances at his watch. He had an early shift at the Someday Cafe down in Davis Square, and he has no classes on Fridays, so he is done for the day. He’s got plans to meet Liam and Niall at the pub later, but he’s got time to get some work done if he’s feeling responsible, or drink a beer and play some Mario if he’s not.

Ten minutes later, the groceries are stowed away, and he’s got a bottle sitting on the counter when inspiration strikes. He looks at the beer, gives a cheer of victory when he finds ice cream in the freezer, and then goes to work.

Moments later, Louis sits down on his bed, which serves as his couch and main lounging area due to the small size of the room, and sets his amazing drink experiment on the side table as, picking up the Xbox controller, he prepares to rain destruction down upon his enemies. The cat moves a bit closer and then stretches out, settling its front paws on Louis’s thigh.

“Jesus, you’re a big one, aren’t you?” Louis reaches out and gives the smooth, silky fur on the cat’s head a quick rub and is immediately rewarded with a deep, rumbling purr. He smiles in delight, sets down the controller, and begins rubbing firmly under the cat’s chin, whose eyes half-close in ecstasy as the purr increases in volume.

When Louis removes one hand to pick up his drink, the cat’s eyes fly open, and it looks displeased by this turn of events. It reaches one large paw up and presses it to the back of Louis’s hand.

“Hey, now!” Louis exclaims, “Watch out, I don’t want to spill my milkshake!”

The cat, never breaking eye contact, very carefully unsheathes its, wow, really impressive claws. It does not scratch Louis, there is no danger of it breaking the surface of his skin with its powerful talons, but the intent is clear. Honestly a bit intimidated, Louis eyes his milkshake sadly as he sets it back down, and resumes scritching the cat. The eyes sink back to half-mast and the purring resumes.

After about five minutes, Louis feels the silence is becoming awkward.

“So,” he clears his throat and the cat opens its eyes and gazes up at him, “I was just wondering, were you planning on staying over? I mean, it’s cool and all, but I am going out later…” The cat appears to be considering its options, but then Louis hears a voice outside his apartment door, calling out something he can’t quite understand but can certainly guess at.

The cat hops up and heads over to the door, and feeling an odd pang of disappointment, Louis follows it, scooping it up as he opens the door. There is a guy standing right there, his hand raised to knock on the door Louis has just opened, and both he and Louis jump in surprise at the sight of the other. The cat takes this opportunity to tuck its large head under Louis’s chin.

“Jesus Christ” Louis squawks just as the other man breaks into a delighted beam and says happily, “NOLAN!”

The man reaches his hand out and scritches the cat along its cheek, who responds by jamming his head even harder up under Louis’s chin and purring.

“Uff,” Louis grunts in surprise. “So I take it this is yours? Cheeky bugger, aren’t they?”

The other man smiles and Louis is suddenly breathless, because this guy. He’s, wow, he’s kind of amazing, is all. He’s tall, lanky, unruly chestnut curls held off of his face with a gauzy green headscarf. He’s wearing tight jeans, a white t-shirt paired with a flannel with the sleeves cut off, and chunky work boots. His face is a work of art, all sharp lines and contrasting curves, green eyes and a flimsy stubble of scruff. Louis feels a bit lightheaded.

“Yeah, this is Nolan, we just moved in a couple of weeks ago.” Here he indicates the door directly opposite to Louis’s own, behind which lies, Louis knows, a lovely, large 1-bedroom apartment. “He’s always getting out but there’s really nowhere for him to go but here.” The man indicates the large landing ringed by doors, “So I usually don’t worry, he always demands to be let back in soon enough, but this time when I came out and he wasn’t here, I got a bit of a fright. How did he, err, come to be with you?”

At that Louis laughs. “He worked some sort of voodoo on me, man. I was just getting home from the grocery store and I was not expecting a cat, but he was sitting on my mat and basically invited himself in for some cuddles.” At this he gives the cat a small squeeze, in response to which the volume of Nolan’s purring increases.

The smile on the man’s face spreads even wider, which if Louis had had to say, he would not have predicted possible, but there you go. Voodoo cat, magical smiling man. Of course. Louis has the sinking suspicious that he might just be well and truly fucked. He attempts to curb his unruly mind and focus on the words this obviously otherworldly creature has just spoken.

“Just moved in, huh? Sorry I missed it, must have been while I was away. I would have come by and said hi. I hadn’t realized that James moved out. I’m Louis,” and here he struggles for a moment to rearrange the cat so he can hold a hand out, “Louis Tomlinson.”

He is left a bit breathless by the sheer size of the hand engulfing his own.

“Harry, Harry Styles,” says the man, and gives a nice, firm handshake. More points in the plus column. “And that guy right there is Nolan Styles.” He says this with a completely straight face, as if it’s the norm within early-20s male culture to introduce your cat by first and last name.

“Well,” Louis says with a solemn face, “I’m glad you’ve made an honest cat of him.”

At that, a snort escapes Harry, who claps one hand over his mouth, dimples peeking out around the edges, and Christ on a cracker, Louis really is fucked. Dimples, it’s just not fair. No man could be expected to resist them. It’s science, really.

“So, how’d you come to move here? Not the regular time, really.”

Harry shrugs, “James is a friend of a friend of mine, and he was looking to move in with Amelia and I was looking to get out of where I was, so we arranged for me to take over his lease. The location is perfect for me.”

There’s a moment of silence in which Louis and Harry just sort of stare at each other, and then Louis realizes that Harry probably wants his cat back, and with a sad kiss pressed to Nolan’s head, Louis hands him over. He won’t lie, he does find it a bit thrilling when his hands get pressed up against Harry’s unfairly firm pecs in the process.

“Sorry, sorry!” He laughs awkwardly as he untangles himself from the other man.

“No worries,” Harry says as he gracefully drapes Nolan over his shoulder, “A day may come when the courage of men fails, and I don’t enjoy a lovely man’s hands on my chest, but it is not that day, Louis Tomlinson.” And with that, he throws Louis a wink, and turns around and heads back into his apartment, leaving Louis standing on his doormat, absolutely baffled as to what just happened, Nolan staring dolefully at him over Harry’s shoulder as they disappear and the door closes behind them.

“That was flirting, right?” He says this to the empty air of the hall around him, “I’m pretty sure that was flirting.”

“ _That was flirting_ ,” comes a faint reply from behind Harry’s door.

The next morning finds Louis awake earlier than he wants to be. To be fair, it’s always earlier than he wants, regardless of the actual time. For example, today, February 14th, he’s waking up at 11:30 am. He’d had a great night out with Niall and Liam at the pub. Niall had finished his bartending shift at 8, and they’d ended up closing the place. Liam works with Louis at the Someday, and Louis is pretty sure they are both closing tonight.

As he yawns and stretches, the thin winter light filling the room, he shivers. There are aspects of living in an old building that Louis finds charming, and then other things, like the draughty windows, that he enjoys...less. He sighs, there’s a lot of work he needs to do today to get ready for his exams Monday, and since he’s not expected at work until 4, he’s got time to get some proper studying in now.

As the day progresses, Louis can’t seem to stop his thoughts from wandering to the pair across the hall. As he fixes himself lunch, he wonders what Harry’s favorite kind of sandwich is. As he gives himself a break from Torts, he wonders what Nolan is doing. When Civil Procedure makes him want to scoop out his own eyeballs with a spoon, he wonders if Harry has ever been arrested.

He glances at the clock. 3:00 - time to take a shower and get ready for work. He stands up and groans loudly, pressing his hands into the small of his back as he stretches. As he heads into the bathroom, stripping his shirt off as he goes, he stops suddenly, transfixed at the sight of two large, tufty paws currently making their way under his door. He drops down and strokes one, which immediately curls around his finger and even through the door, he can hear the purr start up.

Without thinking, he flings the door open and drops to his knees to ruffle Nolan’s massive head. He doesn’t remember his state of undress until he hears a choked “Hello, Louis,” and looks up to see Harry staring at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

“Oh man,” Louis laughs a bit self-deprecatingly, “Sorry, I was about to hop into the shower. I’ve got to be to work in a hour.”

Harry swallows audibly and says a bit nonsensically, “Of course, not a problem,” and then blushes adorably, and Louis wants to punch himself in the face because what the fuck? How is this man even real?

Louis busies himself with a spot of Nolan-rubbing, causing the large cat to flop over dramatically onto his side, presenting the vast expanse of his fuzzy belly to Louis for worship, which makes Louis laugh.

“He is quite the character, isn’t he?” After a moment, Louis stands and watches Harry’s eyes track the movement of his abs.

“Eyes are up here, Styles,” he says affably, not in the least bothered by Harry’s blatant admiration, and snickers when Harry jolts and lifts his eyes to meet Louis’s.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” Harry shakes his head, “Yeah, anyway, um. You said you were going to work? Where’s that?”

“Someday Cafe, down in Davis. You know it?”

Harry grins. “Oh yeah, I’m down there a lot, don’t think I’ve seen you though? I tend to be there late afternoons, I’m a grad student at Tufts.”

“I’ve been working mornings for a while, not my preference but a couple of staff quit so we’ve been short-handed,” Louis says, filing away the grad student reference for future exploration. “We’ve got a few people coming on over the next couple of weeks, so I’ll be back to afternoons, depending on the day.”

He catches a glimpse of the clock on his wall and gives a squawk of dismay, “Shit, sorry, I gotta get ready to go so I can catch the 3:47! See you later, Harry! Bye, Nolan!” He stumbles back into his apartment and jumps into the shower.

Louis manages to catch the bus, mainly by wailing loudly and waving his arms a whole bunch, as he’s gotten to the bus stop just as the bus is beginning to pull away. The bus driver rolls her eyes at him as he lurches onto the bus.

“Cuttin’ it close today, young Louis,” she says firmly.

“Thank you, Brenda, my darling, the light in my eyes, the joy in my heart,” Louis gasps dramatically as he swipes his Charlie card and absently noting the balance that flashes. He’d better swing by the station in Davis Square and load it up.

Brenda snorts as she swings the large wheel, pulling the bus out into traffic. Louis winces at the cacophony of horns from the cars that were already there, but Brenda seems oblivious. “Such a sweet talker, you are. How come you’re single with such a sweet tongue in your mouth?”

Louis sighs loudly. “I’m waiting for you, Brenda.”

“Baby, you know my heart is taken.”

At that Louis grins. “And how is the lovely Wanda May?”

Brenda’s face breaks into a smile that transforms her to something close to beautiful. “She good, baby, she good. We’re goin’ on vacation next month, gonna get out of the slush and the mud, get ourselves home to the Spice Island.”

Louis sighs in envy. “Please, please post a million pictures to your Insta so I can live through you, Bren, ‘cuz I’ll be stuck here still doing Torts and fucking Civil Procedure.”

Brenda chuckles, long and low. “Well, that’s cuz you nuts, baby, too smart for your own damn good.”

Louis acknowledges that with a nod, and then, “Oh my god, Brenda! Crazy James moved out, and my new neighbor, holy shit, he is smokin’ hot, Brenda!”

“Oh really, now? You think he likes boys?”

At that Louis smirks, and Brenda laughs. “I don’t know if he likes boys, but he sure thinks I’m pretty.”

“Well, you are real pretty, baby, you know that. You need someone who sees past that.”

At that, Louis frowns. He’s been riding this bus for 3 years, and Brenda knows him pretty well. They’ve talked a lot, shared a lot. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean,” Brenda greets the passengers getting on, and then continues as she pulls back out into traffic as Louis gives a small, involuntary shriek, “Oh hush up, you, it wasn’t that close. What I mean is, you hide behind those pretty blue eyes and those cheekbones, baby, and you don’t let very many people see what’s inside of that pretty package.”

Louis sighs. “There’s a very good reason for that, you know that, Bren.”

Brenda sighs as she takes the hard right turn to swing around into the T station. “Davis Square T, this is the Davis Square T stop,” she intones into the microphone and there’s a bustle as the majority of passengers prepare to depart, Louis included.

As he passes her, she smiles and says, “Have a good afternoon at work, baby, see you on the 12:20?”

Louis laughs, “I hope so! We’ll see how long it takes to clean up, it is a day of horror, Brenda.”

Brenda’s low chuckle follows him down the stairs and into the cold as he prepares to make his way across the Square to the Someday.

As he pushes the steamed-up door to the cafe open, he smiles. No matter how crazy it can be, and the service industry can be a _joy_ , for sure, he usually enjoys his time at the coffee shop. It’s a warm, cozy, eclectic mix of hipsters, high-tech folks, students and musicians. He pauses to rip down some of the out of date posters by the door, and then heads back behind the counter.

Liam is already there, tying on his apron and chatting with Mellie and Alex who are preparing to head out.

Mellie’s smile brightens as she sees Louis. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. I’ve missed you, Lou-Lou, when are we on together next?”

“Dunno, I think with the new folks coming on, I’ll be back on afternoons and evenings when I’m not in class.”

“Cool!” Mellie disengages, and gives him a high five. “Anyway, I gotta motor, gotta go meet the guy for a drink before the show tonight. Maybe we’ll swing by later.”

Louis waves as she exits, and turns to Liam. “Liam. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Liam manages to sigh while grinning affably to the customer stepping up to order. “I know, Louis, you’ve only been whining about it for a week.”

“It’s just, love should be celebrated every day, not just once a year! These lame ass-guys who bring their girlfriends flowers once a year. Men should express their feelings every day, Liam. Every day!” Louis waves the brownie he’s bagging up for the customer enthusiastically.

Liam hands the guy his change and drink, and Louis passes over the brownie, while fixing a stern eye on the customer. “Now, you’re not one of those guys, right?”

Looking terrified at possibly facing the wrath of Louis, the customer stammers, “Err, no, I have a standing date with my wife every week, and, um, she loves sunflowers so I bring her those as often as I can afford them.”

“Good boy,” Louis says firmly, and the customer hurries out, glancing a bit nervously behind him.

Liam sighs. “Lou, why don’t you do inventory for a bit, you’re scaring the customer.”

As Louis heads into the storeroom, he says apologetically, “Sorry, Li. The morning customers need a bit more of a dom attitude at 6 am to get them going, forgot for a mo’ that I’m back on afternoons.”

Liam chuckles, and says, “Go count straws and get your head together.”

There is a pre-Valentine’s Day dinner date rush that lasts until 7, and then things ease off. There’s a small crowd hanging out, and Louis is idly sipping his cappuccino and pondering changing the playlist when the door opens and in walks…

“Harry!” Louis says in delight, and then notices the man following him, who may possibly be the most flawless man Louis’s ever seen, but somehow even his technical beauty doesn’t compare with Harry’s wide smile and twinkling green eyes, and not for the first time, Louis contemplates punching himself in the face. He’s not been this attracted to someone since Allen, and look how that turned out.

Louis efficiently shuts down that line of thought and says, “Welcome to the Someday, what can I get for you today, young Harold?”

Harry grins, nods as the other man whispers something in his ear and slips off to grab them a table. They’re both carrying overloaded backpacks, and Louis wonders if they’re settling in for an evening of studying.

“Could I get a large vanilla latte and a double espresso, please? How late are you working tonight?”

As Louis gets to work building the drinks, he wonders which is Harry’s. He’d put money on the latte, the model in the corner looks like an espresso, if an espresso were a person.

“Uh, we close at 11, and then I’m usually out of here to catch the 12:20, so I’m here for the duration.”

Harry clears his throat and says diffidently, “So, does your, um, boyfriend mind you working on Valentine’s Day?”

Louis sets the drinks on the counter and watches Harry swipe his card. “Subtle, Styles, and no, my imaginary boyfriend doesn’t mind at all. He’s very supportive.”

At that, Harry seems to glow a bit brighter under the dim lights of the cafe. “Oh, well, that’s great then. I’m glad you’ve got someone supportive.”

“What are you and McModelFace over there up to, a hot study date for Valentine’s Day?”

“Who?” Harry stares and then comprehension dawns and he snickers. “That’s Zayn, he’s one of my best friends. We moved from Northern California to start at Tufts this fall.”

Louis quirks an eyebrow, “I did my undergrad at Tufts. What are you studying?”

“Um, Zayn’s getting his DVM and I,” inexplicably, Harry turns a dull red, “I’m in the joint DVM/PhD program.”

“No way! That’s so cool!” Louis exclaims, always glad to geek out with a fellow nerd. “What program?”

“Uh,” Harry looks startled, as if not used to this response, “Um, Molecular Biology.”

Louis purses his lips and whistles softly, impressed. “Damn, man, that’s cool.”

Harry opens his mouth and looks like he’s about to speak when the model, _Zayn,_ Louis reminds himself, approaches. “Harry, c’mon, we’ve got a shit-ton to get through, you coming?”

Harry throws Louis a look of regret, and says, “Talk to you later, Lou,” and heads over to the corner with Zayn.

As Louis watches him walk away, he feels an elbow hitting his ribs, and jumps, startled.

“ _Lou_?” Liam hisses at him, “Louis, who the hell is that?”

“That,” Louis says, sighing deeply, “is my doom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please, as always, these are works of fiction, meant to entertain. Please don’t break the 4th wall or post anywhere else!
> 
> Feel free to come say come say hi on Tumblr! If you enjoyed this, the rest of my stuff can be found here!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and if you feel so inspired, feel free to leave a kudos or a comment, they all make my day brighter! Even better, if you're on Tumblr and enjoyed this, feel free to [reblog this post!!](http://phd-mama.tumblr.com/post/156987073918/sometimes-goodbye-is-a-second-chance)


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